7 Best Coffee Scales: Reviews and Buying Guide

A coffee scale is a gadget you might easily forget about. However, it’s as important as any other piece of gear. Regardless of your preferred brew style, guesstimating the amount of coffee beans won’t yield a consistently perfect cup of coffee.

But what makes a great coffee scale? Are there any key features you should be looking for? We’ll provide the answers. Keep reading for our buying guide and our top pick for this year.

How to Choose the Best Coffee Scale for Your Home or Cafe

Turn on your grinder, pick up a portafilter and eyeball just enough ground coffee to fill it up. This technique has been perfected by baristas for years, but does it suffice?

First of all, measuring out the beans or grounds gives you more control over the coffee brewing process. You’ll quickly determine exactly how much coffee is enough for a reinvigorating doppio or a punchy French press.

Accuracy

Measuring your coffee beans down to a tenth of a gram helps you maintain consistency when you’re trying new beans or switching to different coffee brewing methods. What’s more, volumetric measurements are inferior to metric weighted measurements (2).

The metric system allows you to zero in on the minute weight differences without having to hassle with decimals and fractions. This is important because the volume and strength of your coffee can significantly vary based on the roast level and beans’ freshness (3). That said, keep your coffee beans in airtight container to keep them fresh. Or if you’re interested in roasting coffee beans at home, here are some great machines you can choose from.

Design

A novice coffee lover might believe that the scale design is second to its accuracy. This is true, to an extent. But remember, your coffee scale will be spending time in a hot, moist environment and you might easily spill water or coffee over it.

For this reason, it’s best to go for waterproof or, at least, a water-resistant coffee scales. On the upside, most coffee scales are engineered with this in mind and can withstand a single spill. Next, you should think about the scale’s footprint.

Your coffee gear already includes a machine, a grinder, and an assortment of accessories such as sifters, filters, milk frothers, and more. Add a scale and your barista nook is likely to become cramped. This is why you should go with a compact model.

Portability

The question of portability brings us back to the scale’s compactness. A large analog scale might look cool next to your lever espresso machine, but it’s hard to move it out of the way when you don’t need it.

Besides being accurate and compact, a digital scale should also have a sleek profile. The best option is to go for a battery-operated model that’s not too tall. Ideally, the scale should also fit your kitchen drawer or backpack if you like to take the coffee brewing kit on the go.

Extra Handy Features

Extra handy features like auto-off or timers don’t make a scale more accurate. However, they help to ensure a smooth brewing experience and save battery life.

A model with touch-sensitive or capacitive buttons is usually more durable than the one with traditional press-down controls. Coffee grounds are delicate and fine, so they can easily end up in nooks and crannies around the regular buttons. This rarely happens with touch-sensitive controls.

Tare function is not an extra feature and certain coffee scales initiate it on auto (4). This basically resets the weighted measure to zero. To be exact, the tare function can subtract the weight of your portafilter, cup or carafe and give you just the coffee weight.

The 7 Best Coffee Scales

Get the coffee scale for your own kitchen or give it to your pour over coffee snob friend, you won’t regret it.

Looking for the most accurate and portable coffee scale? Here’s the ultimate rundown.

The first thing that grabs the attention is a slim and sleek profile. However, the V60 is not the smallest coffee scale on this list – it measures 1.1” x 4.7” x 7.4”.

The model we reviewed is completely black and you can also get one with a metallic top. This should make the Hario universally aesthetically appealing. But, the accuracy and ease of use are the V60’s true highlights. It can measure down to 0.1g and it offers simple touch controls.

BEST SUITED FOR: Connoisseurs in need of unparalleled accuracy. It will take your brewing to the next level.

Getting a good coffee scale doesn’t mean you need to spend a small fortune, and Etekcity is there to prove it. What’s more, this model looks and feels premium. Plus, it offers certain features of more expensive units.

For starters, the Etekcity coffee and kitchen scale has a stainless steel top, large backlit display, and laminated buttons. This makes this digital kitchen scale more durable and adds to its overall aesthetic appeal. The profile is slim and the scale measures 0.67” x 5.70” x 7.32” and weighs 7 ounces. This puts it among the most compact units, but what about the features?

The Etekcity coffee and kitchen scale is designed to give you precise measurements in the Imperial and metric systems and it’s easy to switch between the two. The maximum weight capacity is 11 pounds (5kg or 176oz) and the scale features 1g (0.035oz) increments.

On the other hand, there is a 3g to 5g limit to the minimum recommended measurement. It doesn’t mean that the scale cannot measure below 3g, only that it might be more accurate with larger volumes. This shouldn’t be of concern since you’d be measuring coffee beans at or above the minimum weight anyway. This scale comes with two pre-installed AAA batteries.

BEST SUITED FOR: Beginners looking for a great entry-level coffee and kitchen scale, or if you are strapped for cash but don’t want to compromise on the specs.

The Coffee Gator digital scale has all the bells and whistles to keep a coffee lover happy and it comes at a reasonable price point. That’s why this model gets the best value for money trophy.

This is a multi-functional coffee scale and it has laminated buttons for some extra protection. You get a built-in timer with reset, stop, and start functions to help you nail the bloom/extraction time for your pour-over, French press, or espresso. There is also the Units button to switch between ounces, pounds, grams, milliliters, and more.

This means you can precisely measure how much ground coffee you need, then switch and gauge how much water is needed for the perfect extraction. There is also a dedicated Tare button and this model has one of the largest backlit LCD displays around.

As for the accuracy, the Coffee Gator is hard to rival and the range is between 0.002oz and 6.6lbs. Aside from measuring coffee, this scale works great as a multipurpose digital kitchen scale. This scale comes with two AAA batteries.

BEST SUITED FOR: Novice and veteran brewers looking to measure across a wide range. The rubber mat gives an extra layer of protection to this versatile scale.

Coming at half the price of some other coffee scales, the Eravsow coffee scale can surely fit any budget. However, there’s much more to this gadget than its low price.

For example, the Eravsow is among the few budget coffee scales that have the G load sensor. Without going into unnecessary technicalities, this sensor is there to help you measure with greater accuracy. And this scale is rated to measure between 1g and 3,000g (3kg).

Of course, you can switch between units, and measure fluids as well as solids. As a hand-drip scale, the Eravsow kitchen scale has a timer as well, plus there is an auto-off feature that turns off the machine after five minutes. Also, this scale sports a super-sleek design.

The unit has a droplet-shaped body with a rounded top and a somewhat narrower bottom. The round measuring platform is made of stainless steel, which adds some durability points. The Eravsow also has a sizable backlit display that incorporates a low battery indicator.

As for the size, this coffee scale is one of the most compact. It measures 1.15” x 6.1” x 7.7” and weighs 10.6oz. Its rounded design helps you easily find the place for the scale on your countertop. This scale comes with two AAA batteries.

BEST SUITED FOR: A coffee lover looking for a reliable coffee scale on a tight budget.

The Acaia Pearl S is a coffee scale for the 21st century. From the minimal all-black or all-white design to smart measuring features, the Pearl S has everything an aspiring or veteran barista might need. Plus, there is a proprietary smartphone app to keep track of your measurements and get advanced functions.

To start with the dimensions, the Pearl S measures 1.26” x 6.13” x 6.13” and weighs 1.3 pounds. Essentially, it’s a small square gadget that fits an oversized pocket and is completely travel-ready. This scale also features a Li-ion rechargeable battery that you can charge via USB.

When it comes to capacity, the Acaia can accurately measure between 0.1g and 3,000g and there is an option to switch to ounces if that’s what you prefer. Unlike most other models, this one features an LED dot matrix screen which adjusts the brightness to the ambient light.

The display shows weight, brewing time, and flow rate when you use the scale for pour overs. The package includes a heat-resistant pad to protect the surface from hot mugs.

Finally, the Pearl S app allows you to download a brew guide. There are also a few advanced modes – portafilter mode, for example.

BEST SUITED FOR: Stylish, data-obsessed baristas for whom money is no object. It’s precise, compact, and packed with smart features.

Are you in need of a smart scale that doesn’t require you to waste time getting the correct settings? If so, the Brewista II coffee and kitchen scale might be the one you are looking for. In total, this model has six different espresso modes that allow you to focus on coffee brewing instead of measuring.

When in mode 2, the Brewista will auto-tare once you place a cup. Mode 5 auto-tares the cup and starts the timer as soon as the liquid hits the cup. What’s best about it, you can easily switch between the modes at a press of a button or manually start the timer.

It’s worth noting that even though the Brewista II is designed as an espresso scale, it works great for other brewing methods. How? It has a protective silicone pad if you are to use larger or hot mugs. The scale is also water-resistant and it’s perfectly safe to place it directly under the group head.

This model doesn’t lack accuracy either. The maximum load capacity is 2,000g and it precisely measures down to 0.1g. On top of that, the Brewista II is one of the most compact models – it measures 0.7” x 4.2” x 5” and weighs 8 ounces.

In the end, you don’t need AAA batteries to power the scale because it has a rechargeable Li-ion battery. Plus, you can extend the battery life with the auto-off function that you can set to one, two, or three minutes.

BEST SUITED FOR: Beginners looking for the easiest-to-use-scale. But it also has all the features that make it suitable for pros and coffee shops.

The Greater Goods Nourish is compact enough to easily fit your pocket or backpack. The unit measures 0.8 x 6 x 10” and weighs 1.1 pounds, so you won’t find it hard to pack this scale with your other gear. But is portability the only thing that this digital coffee scale has to offer?

Hardly!. The Nourish has special sensors that ensure the scale is accurate down to 0.1oz. You get to choose between Imperial and metric units, and you can measure liquids as well. Like all great coffee scales, this one has a timer and a large backlit display.

Another great feature is the heat-resistant glass top that incorporates touch-sensitive buttons. This also makes maintenance a breeze. Aside from that, this model works great as a food scale, but the manufacturer doesn’t specify the maximum load.

If you factor in the tempered glass, touch-sensitive buttons, and superb precision, the Nourish also falls into the great value for money category.

BEST SUITED FOR: Those looking for features that make even a hard-core coffee aficionado happy. Plus, it is easy to stash away when not in use.

The Verdict

When all is said and done, the best coffee scale needs to be accurate, easy to use, and easy to put away when not in use. The Hario Coffee Drip scale ticks all those boxes.

This unit is by far the most accurate on this list. It is built to last you a lifetime and sports a design that matches any coffee maker, automatic or manual.